


The Prince's Entourage

by syzygynight



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, even friends like the Chaos Crew over here, i wish them luck, jee also needs more friends, there are very few braincells on this ship, zuko needs more friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26724556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syzygynight/pseuds/syzygynight
Summary: Zuko is banished, sent away with a small crew. The "crew" is made up mostly of rejects and rebels, but it's a crew nonetheless. Their journey is bound to be chaotic.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jee & Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Zuko's Crew (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started thinking about making a crew for Zuko and just. Didn't stop. Now I love them, they are all my children now, and Zuko is their child. never thought I'd be a grandparent at this age, but I'll allow this. So without further ado!
> 
> "THE PRINCE IS DEAD!"
> 
> "...The prince is what now."
> 
> ...we're off to a great start fellas.

Zuko wakes up on the Wani. His head hurts, but that’s not gonna stop him. Pain never stopped him before, it certainly won’t now. Not even this blistering, pounding ache that spikes every time he moves.

He’s on a small, stiff mattress. The air smells fresh and clean. It’s so unlike the last thing he just barely remembers smelling that he lays there in a daze for a moment. Then he moves.

He manages to sit up, willpower forcing his muscles to move. The room is small and lit only by one small window beside him. Outside is only blue.

That’s not right. 

The Fire Nation has no blue. It’s only red. Why is there blue?

All the exhaustion and pain he feels cools against the rapidly rising panic. It sizzles under his skin, propelling him towards the door. He wrenches it open and stumbles out, nearly colliding with the floor as everything shifts suddenly, as if the world pulls itself out from under his feet like a malicious rug.

He manages to right himself. His head throbs and he lets out an unconscious whine. He bites his tongue on it and marches as imperiously as he can through the unknown hallway. The metal creaks ominously and continues to move around, much to his chagrin. Where the hell is he?

Where is his father?

Where is Azula?

_ Where is home? _

Zuko doesn’t get very far before a light-haired man steps into his path. With a surprised yelp, the prince jumps back and instinctively launches a fireball at the stranger.

“Whoa, what-?!” the man dodges it easily. The flames disperse harmlessly against the wall behind him. “What was that for?”

“Who are you?!” Zuko shoots back. “Where am I?!”

The man blinks owlishly at him. “Huh…? Oh. I’m Kojuku, and you’re on the Wani.”

“...Why?!” Zuko yells when Kojuku doesn’t elaborate further.

“Because General Dragon brought you onboard?” Kojuku responds lamely. “He said the Fire Lord ordered it. I don’t know the whole story, I’m sorry...”

Zuko’s head spins, and it has nothing to do with the bobbing of the boat, which he knows he is on now. So many things don’t make sense, don’t connect. There’s missing pieces, pieces he needs to find.

“You look pale, your princeliness,” Kojuku says in concern. “I should go get General Dragon or the doctor, or something…”

Zuko has no idea what those absurd-sounding titles are, but he’s fairly certain that the first one is  _ him.  _ He opens his mouth to scold this uncouth man when a dam inside of his head seems to burst, spilling hot pain into the left side of his face.

_ Hot like the sun, like fire, like flames eating away at his skin, soaking into his eye and ear and burning them away to nothing- _

Kojuku yells something, but Zuko doesn’t hear what it is. He’s too busy collapsing.

\---

Ino’s not a fan of ships. They move up and down constantly, and the quiet creaking of the metal seems to intensify at night when he’s trying to stay asleep. And now he’s on one long term. To say the engineer is in a bad mood would be an understatement.

Well, “engineer” on paper. He’s more of a fighter himself, if the swords hanging by his side mean anything.

Unfortunately, the paper is a very professional looking one, so Ino finds himself stalking down to the boiler room. He grumbles to himself as he walks, almost missing the flash of white out of the corner of his eye. He pauses to squint at it.

“What the fuck.”

Kojuku turns, noticeably paler than normal, which is mildly concerning.

“INOOOOOO!” the man wails, launching himself at the swordsman. Ino steps back instinctively, leaving his friend to the cruel, unforgiving embrace of the steel wall. Kojuku detaches himself with practiced ease.

“INO!” Kojuku yells into his face.

“What, dumbass.” is his elegant response.

“THE PRINCE IS DEAD!”

“...The prince is what now.”

Kojuku points frantically back the way he came. Looking over, Ino spots the dark lump sprawled out on the floor. That can’t be good.

“We were talking one moment, and then the next he just-he just dropped!” Kojuku explains. There are sparks flying out of his mouth and popping in his palms. Ino flicks his forehead to get him to take a breath.

Then Ino walks over to the small prince and kneels beside him. He nudges the kid’s arm. No movement. He flips the arm over and puts his pointer and middle finger over the bottom of his wrist.

“He’s not dead. He just fainted.” Ino tells Kojuku, who is hovering anxiously behind him. “You probably stressed him out or something, you idiot.”

“Hey,  _ he’s _ the one who attacked _ me! _ ” 

“That’s a reasonable reaction. Come on, let’s get him back in his bed and fetch the doctor before his uncle murders us.”

“R-right!”

They manage to get him back into the infirmary, but not without difficulty. Even unconscious, Zuko fights back, elbowing and kicking if moved wrong. Ino has to fight the urge to hit back; the brat is injured enough as is.

Kojuku throws a blanket over him once they return him to his bed. He sighs, relieved.

“Try not to freak him out again.” Ino instructs.

“I didn’t try to!” Kojuku complains. “I answered his questions as best I could, but I guess he didn’t like my answers…”

“Whatever. Let’s go find the doctor and get lunch. Oji’s made chili.”

“Hell yeah!”

\---

Iroh is discussing the course with Lieutenant Jee, the navigator, Reishi, and a nice big cup of jasmine tea when Ino pokes his head in unnanounced.

“Your nephew made an escape attempt, General,” he says. “Where’s Shue?”

Iroh is on his feet at the second word. “I believe he is on the deck. Send him to me, I’m going ahead.”

Ino nods and disappears. Reishi stops Iroh on his way to the door.

“Don’t forget your tea. I feel like you’ll need it.” he says with a smile.

Iroh nods gratefully, cradles his tea in his hands, and heads for the infirmary. He chuckles.

It hasn’t even been a full day and his nephew is already causing trouble. 

Zuko is fast asleep when Iroh arrives. His eyebrows are furrowed and sweat clings to his flushed cheeks. His bandages are tinted red. Iroh wills Shue to come faster.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the old doctor appears in the doorway.

“Kojuku is a menace to society, I swear,” Shue mutters as he steps to Zuko’s side. He takes one look at the boy and is on the move again, gathering clean bandages and a bucket of water. “That boy is a bad luck magnet.”

Iroh chuckles, though his eyes stay on the prince. “There’s a history there.”

Shue shrugs noncommittally. “It’s not a long one, but it’s there. I’ll just say he’s a regular of mine.” then he gets to work on the bandages.

Iroh sips his tea and watches the doctor work. Zuko mutters things in his sleep, which the old man soothes by gently holding his nephew’s hand. 

“There’s a history here.” Shue comments as he treats the dark wound settled over half of Zuko’s face. His hands are gentle against the sensitive skin.

Iroh slurps down the last of his tea and sighs. “Indeed there is.” he doesn’t say any more.

Shue doesn’t ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> Hope some of yall will enjoy my kids as much as i do. Especially Kojuku and Ino my baby bois. They're gonna be especially messy. oh boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im outta control tonight someone stop me i need to sleep
> 
> A few more characters show up, including Jee! Love this guy. Love bullying him too, so here Jee have another child to look after lol

There’s not many good places for archery practice on a ship. This displeases Ai greatly.

It’s the evening on the first day. The prince has been taken care of and will hopefully not run off in a feverish delusion again. Ai is hungry, but dinner is running late, and her fingers are itching for her bow, but there is nothing to shoot at other than her new crewmates, and she doesn’t need another Incident on her hands.

Then she gets an idea. 

Lieutenant Jee finds her leaning so far over the railing that her feet are off the ground.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asks flatly.

“Fishing.” Ai says, brandishing an arrow with a rope tied around it.

“Why?”

“You can take an archer out of the field, but you can’t take the field out of the archer, Lieutenant.”

Jee doesn’t even try to decipher that. 

“But must you fish in...whatever manner this is?” he questions.

Ai swings a leg out and lands a weak hit to the man’s hip. “Listen. I wanna shoot things, but it’s kinda hard in the middle of the ocean. I’m working with what I got right now.”

“Fair enough. Just don’t fall off.”

“Is that a challenge?” Ai asks, looking back up at him with a wolfish grin.

“ _ No, _ what-”

She tilts further over the edge, slipping forward. Jee doesn’t think before he bounds forward to catch her by the waist, bringing her back up. When he does, she has materialized a thin silver fish on her arrow.

“Challenge accepted, challenge completed!” Ai says triumphantly with a laugh. She pats Jee’s shoulder. “Thanks for catching me, Lieutenant Jee! You’re a good man!”

Jee lets her go and watches her skip away. She disappears around the corner, and he messages his temple.

He has the sudden feeling that Prince Zuko isn’t the only headache on this ship. The thought is almost enough for him to “fall” over the railing himself.

\---

Suzuka...does not regret the circumstances that led to her placement on the Wani, and she never will.

Men really need to learn to stop hitting on every pretty thing with a pulse. Those pretty things might have sharp objects, or easy access to fire, or both. It’s her. She’s both.

Fortunately, this crew seems to have more sense than her last one. Most of them, anyway.

The fact that Prince Zuko nearly takes someone’s head off on the first day is a bit iffy to her, but she will withhold her judgement for now. He’s a kid, a wounded kid with a high fever. She can manage some mercy.

Then there’s the navigator, who’s shady as hell but hasn’t actually done anything to warrant her suspicion. Something about him just naturally sets off her instincts. Suzuka watches Reishi discuss something with General Iroh, all casual smiles and friendly eyes. His posture is perfect, almost like he’s used to talking with high-ranking officers. He could not be more suspicious if he tried.

Suzuka keeps an eye on him. 

\---

The lady in black is watching him a lot.

Reishi notices this before nearly anything else. He’s always been aware of eyes on him. He’s always had to be, even when he shouldn’t have to. 

He lets her watch. Doing anything about it would just put her more on edge, which is not what he wants.

It’s kind of amusing, though. Even when he’s doing something as mundane as watching the clouds, she’s still suspicious. It’s not his fault he just seems to exude sketchiness. It’s something he can’t fix, it seems.

Even right now, as Iroh is interrogating him on his favorite tea, she is watching him.

“I’m very sorry, General,” Reishi says with a shake of his head. “But I’m just not a fan of ginseng. Even if I put honey in it, the bitterness still comes through much too much.”

Iroh strokes his beard, looking much like a scientist discovering a new specimen. “Interesting. Have you tried adding milk?”

“Milk, you say? No, I haven’t. I’ll have to try it and let you know.”

Now Iroh looks like a scientist with a successful experiment. “Very good! It’s an excellent idea to broaden your horizons, including your tastebuds!”

Reishi chuckles. “Yes, variety is a good thing, I completely agree.”

A loud clanging sound interrupts their conversation.

One of the cooks, Kaku, has emerged from his kitchen cave with a pot and a metal spoon. He makes direct eye contact with Reishi and bangs them together again.

“Dinner’s ready.” he announces. 

One of the other crewmen, a young girl with long braided hair, darts from the back of the ship with a fish on an arrow. Behind her, Lieutenant Jee also appears, looking mildly in pain.

“Finally, I’m starving here!” she yells as she runs past Kaku.

Iroh chuckles. “Ah, youth.”

“Shall we follow?” Reishi suggests. The General nods, and they also head for the cafeteria. The woman watching him also comes. 

\---

Shue listens to Kaku banging the “dinnertime bell” outside and huffs. He closes the door before the sound can disturb the infirmary even more. Luckily, Zuko doesn’t stir.

He sits back down and continues reading his medical book. It’s a brand new textbook, with significantly updated cures and technology advances. It’s exciting stuff for a small number of people, himself included.

As he reads, the prince shifts in his bed. Shue doesn’t pay it much attention at first.

Then it becomes more frantic.

“Nnngh…”

Shue glances up. Zuko is grimacing in his sleep, curling in on himself. It makes him look even smaller than he usually looks, which is a difficult task considering he is very small.

“Stop…” Zuko breathes. “I’m sorry...I-I’m sorry…”

Shue shouldn’t listen to this. It feels disrespectful. But he can’t stop himself from paying more attention now anyways.

“Please...f-father…”

Shue shuts his book and gets up quietly. Zuko is fidgeting frantically, as if trying to get away from something. Someone. The wet towel that had previously been on his forehead has slipped off.

The doctor takes it and dips it into the bucket of lukewarm water. He wipes at the boy’s face as softly as he can, but stops when he unconsciously pulls away. Shue pinches himself at his thoughtlessness as he glances at the bandages. He decides to inch the towel under Zuko’s neck instead. 

He doesn’t know what else he can do. He’s a doctor, he heals physical wounds, not ones of the mind. Unfortunately, that had always been a much higher hurdle that he hadn’t had enough passion or courage to try to climb.

It’s times like this he wishes he was a better man.

Unfortunately, he’s not. So he leaves Zuko to his dreams, going to the cafeteria to get some food. He brings some back to place at the prince’s bedside, just in case. At the very least, Zuko doesn’t look as tormented anymore..

This is all he can do right now. It doesn’t feel like enough.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko's awake again! And he's aware of things this time! Poor boy is processing things right now, and his strange crew is not helping at the moment.

When Zuko wakes up the second time, his head is clearer and his uncle is sitting patiently by his side. He has tea, because of course he does, he always has tea.

Zuko starts to get up and Iroh adjusts his pillows silently.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“I’m fine.” Zuko grunts, ignoring the headache and the exhaustion weighing on his shoulders. “What happened?” 

Iroh sips his tea nervously before beginning to explain. He speaks softly and slowly, starting from the Agni Kai. He skims over some stuff at the beginning, but Zuko can fill in the blanks himself. 

He remembers now. He lost. 

He lost the Agni Kai, he lost his honor, he lost his home, he lost-

Everything. 

Iroh nudges a cup of tea towards him, into his trembling hands. He wants him to drink it. 

Zuko begrudgingly drinks it, even if he’s currently numb to the taste.

\---

He rests for another few hours before regaining enough strength to walk around the ship. Shue tries to get him to rest longer, but he refuses.

While he’s in bed, his uncle tells him about his father’s orders: find the Avatar, or remain banished. It’s not a hard choice, though uncle seems oddly hesitant for a moment before agreeing with his decision, and it motivates him to get up faster. 

A good portion of the crew, namely the cooks, the helmsman, and the navigator, are hard at work. The others seem to be slacking off, which irritates him, to put it mildly.

The “engineer”, or so Zuko’s been told, is sitting on deck sharpening a beautiful pair of katanas. Next to him is the white-haired man Zuko vaguely remembers throwing a fireball at...Kujo? No, Kojuku, that’s his name. He looks bored as he...wait, is he using a pen to draw on his hand?

Kojuku dips the pen into the little ink container next to him, ready to continue whatever he’s doing, when he looks up and notices Zuko. His face nearly splits with the intensity of the smile he puts on. Zuko notes that the bright orange markings at the corners of his eyes remind of him of that eyeliner Azula had started taking a liking to.

A sudden surge of homesickness makes him scowl.

“Your princeliness! Good to see you lucid this time!” the man greets loudly, with a big wave. His companion blinks slowly and turns to him.

“You know what  _ lucid  _ means?” he asks, sounding genuinely shocked. Kojuku punches his shoulder with a laugh. 

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you’re a dumbass.”

“Yeah, well  _ you’re _ ...uh...mean!”

Zuko watches the exchange blankly. 

“...Don’t either of you have jobs to do?” he asks them sharply.

The swordsman groans, throwing his head back. “I’ve checked everything I’m in charge of, like, three times already. I’m done until after lunch at least.”

“I helped, so I’m done too!” Kojuku adds.

“You did  _ not  _ help, you almost fucking blew us up-”

“But we’re fine, so no one needs to know that!”

Zuko...doesn’t want to know, but he also does, feels like he should. But the pair begin arguing in earnest, and his headache is quickly reforming, so he’ll have to confront them about the “almost blew us up” part later.

“Just find something useful to do!” he snaps at them before storming off.

\---

“Oh, it’s Prince Zuko!”

A blonde whirlwind is suddenly upon him as he’s heading to the navigation room. He stumbles, but whoever runs into him keeps him upright.

“Sorry about that, your highness. I’m glad to see you're feeling good enough to walk around, though!” the girl says brightly.

“Y-yeah…thanks.” Zuko replies, taking a step back from her. She seems around his age, what is she doing here? “Who are you…?”

“I’m Ai!” she bows respectfully, even though she most likely knows he’s (technically,  _ temporarily _ ) not a prince anymore. He swallows that bitter thought as she continues. “I’m an archer, so I’ve just been helping the cooks with fishing and stuff.”

A fishing archer. Something about that seems questionable, but alright.

“Okay.” an awkward pause settles, which Zuko breaks with a just as awkward “See you.”

Ai takes it in stride. She dips into another bow before running off in the direction of the kitchen. Zuko sighs, running a hand down the uncovered side of his face.

Why is this crew so weird?

\---

He gets to the navigation room undisturbed after that. His uncle is sitting at a pai sho table, facing a black-clothed woman with a ponytail. The navigator and the lieutenant are looking over a large map on the other side of the room.

“It was a valiant effort, miss Suzuka,” Iroh chuckles. “But that last move was detrimental, I’m afraid.”

“You had me cornered anyway, nothing I could do.” the woman shrugs, unbothered. She nods at the prince; the quietest greeting he’s had all day. He gives a small nod back.

“Ah, Prince Zuko!” Iroh waves him over as Suzuka removes herself from the game table. “Care for a game?”

“Uh...no thanks, uncle.” Zuko’s always been bad at pai sho. Lu Ten challenged him, once upon a time, and that had not gone well for Zuko. he’d rather not relive that. 

Thinking about Lu Ten hurts, especially with uncle right in front of him. He pushes his cousin away from the front of his mind. 

“Then how can we help you?” Iroh asks, rising to his feet and dusting off his robes. 

_ Take me home,  _ he can’t say that, he knows he can’t say that, father was very clear about his punishment, but nothing can stop him from thinking it. Wishing for it. Almost willing to plead for it.

His burn throbs.

“Set a course for the Western Air Temple.” he says abruptly. Iroh nods, resigned, and Reishi starts rifling through the maps without question, but the lieutenant looks taken aback.

“Wait, you’re serious about this?” he asks, baffled. “The Avatar hasn’t been seen in decades! How are we supposed to find them?!”

Zuko scowls at him.

“We’re  _ going  _ to find them.” he spits out. “We’re going to find them, and we’re going to take them home to my father, and we’re starting immediately.”

That’s the plan. He has a plan, rough as it may be.

Now he just needs to find a long-lost legend. Simple enough. Really. The uncomfortable churning in his stomach is from hunger, nothing else, anyone who says otherwise goes overboard. 

He's going to do this. He'll regain his honor and return home braver and stronger then before. His father will welcome him back a hero, and everything will be right again.

He has to do this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do really be on a roll with these updates tho. im kinda proud of myself ngl lol
> 
> An alliance is formed and Zuko meditates. That's really it for this chapter. Have a nice night/whatever time of day it is for u fellas.

The next day, Everyone gathers on the deck at Prince Zuko’s orders.

When he explains their mission, there’s a lot of...skepticism. In the form of loud complaints, and a bit of yelling. The prince is doing most of the yelling.

“Hasn’t the Avatar been dead for ages now, though?” Ai questions quietly.

“Then we drag back the corpse.” Ino replies bluntly from beside her.

Ai nods sagely with a hum of understanding. “And if the reincarnation cycle is broken like the world thinks, then that’ll be the end of that...”

“And we can go back to this world domination shit the Fire Lord has his heart set on.” Ino finishes unenthusiastically. Ai blinks and looks at him.

“...The Fire Lord has a heart?” she deadpans.

Ino meets her gaze coolly. “Probably not.”

A pause.

“I’m Ai. I’m an archer.”

“Ino. Swordsman.”

They shake hands, something invisible forming between them. Some sort of odd camaraderie that can only be formed from a lowkey treasonous conversation. Some sort of weapon-wielding solidarity too, maybe. 

Across the deck, a unanimous shiver of unease is felt by most of the rest of the crew. They blame it on the insane mission the prince has put upon them.

\---

Ai finds Ino in the cafeteria during the lunch rush and makes herself at home across from him and his friend.

“What do you want.” Ino says, shoveling a spoonful of bubbling chili into his mouth. Ai flinches; she can feel the heat of his food from across the table.

“Ah, who’s this?” Kojuku looks between them. “Did you make a friend, Ino?”

“Yep!” Ai says cheerfully and sticks her hand out to him. “I’m Ai! Nice to meet you!”

Kojuku shakes it with a bright smile. “Likewise! I’m Kojuku!”

Another shiver wades through the room, worse than the first. Everyone blames it on the infamously hot chili being served from the kitchen. 

“So what’s  _ another  _ kid doing on this fossil of a ship?” Ino asks.

“I’m not a kid, I’m fifteen!” Ai argues.

“And the prince is thirteen,” the swordsman shoots back. “You’re both kids.”

  
Ai takes a bite out of her fried fish. “I’m still older.” she mutters. Ino rolls his eyes.

“You didn’t answer the question.” 

The girl crosses her arms defensively and mutters something under her breath. Kojuku leans closer curiously.

“Repeat that?” he asks. Ai huffs.

“I...I got kicked out of the Pohuai Stronghold…” she says, wilting. Ino chokes on his chili. Kojuku slams a hand against his back and hands him his glass of water.

“Huh  _ whuh?!”  _ Ino coughs out once he’s released from the molten food stuck in his throat. “Wait wait wait...don’t tell me you’re a fucking Yuyan or something?!”

Ai pokes at her plate glumly. “I’ll go with ‘or something’...”

“Yuyan?” Kojuku tilts his head. Ino elbows him.

“The Yuyan Archers, even you know them don’t you?” he explains. “That elite archery team under Colonel Shinu?”

“Ooooh yeah, I know them!! They’re so cool!” Kojuku exclaims. He turns to Ai, awestruck. “You’re one of them?!”

Ai’s face is red with mortification as she recalls some mysterious past event. “I wish…but I doubt I ever will be, now.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“There’s a history there.”

_ “I’m not telling you.” _

“Oh, come on!”

Ino and Kojuku try their best to get the story out of her, but Ai’s lips are sealed. They badger her for the entirety of lunch, but she remains silent.

They are eventually forced to concede. For now.

\---

Iroh shuts the door to Zuko’s room behind him as quietly as he can with his hands full of tea. Zuko is sitting cross-legged in front of a small lamp, eye closed. The lamp’s flame moves with his slow breathing.

Iroh carefully places the tea tray onto the floor and takes a seat. 

Neither of them move for almost an hour. Then the lamp flame flickers and Zuko twitches, lips twisting into a scowl. He gives up, snapping his eye open with a huff. The flame huffs with him.

“Very good, nephew.” Iroh commends. “Meditating for such a long time is no easy task, especially when wounded.” 

“Meditating is a basic skill that any firebender can do,” Zuko scoffs, crossing his arms. “I should be able to do more then just sit and breathe, uncle!”

“It’s not only about sitting and breathing , nephew, it is also about patience and self-control.” Iroh tells him, beginning to pour him a cup of warm tea. “These lessons may seem bitter now, but in time they will bear sweet fruit.”

Zuko watches him out of the corner of his eye, stiff as a board. Iroh places his tea beside him and takes a sip out of his own cup. Eventually, Zuko picks up his cup and drinks. He finishes it quickly.

“Uncle.”

“Hmm?”

Iroh glances over, eyes widening when he sees the boy  _ bowing _ to him, hands on the floor and head low. Before he can say anything, Zuko continues.

“Please...please train me.” he requests shakily. 

Iroh places his tea down with a frown. He doesn’t like that his nephew feels the need to bow so low to him, or even at all. But he understands why Zuko does, those heartbreaking bandages painting a clear enough picture of Ozai’s twisted definition of respect to even family members. 

“I highly doubt the Avatar will just come willingly,” Zuko presses on when Iroh doesn’t immediately respond. “I need to be ready to face them when the time comes, so please-”

“Of course I will, nephew,” Iroh interrupts him. He chuckles. “In fact, I thought I already  _ was.” _

Zuko glances up, surprised. 

“Now sit up,” Iroh urges. “While a back does not break by bending, it certainly can’t be very comfortable.”

Zuko gets up and stares at him like he just started bending his tea. “...What does that even  _ mean? _ ”

Iroh just grins.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aww, Zuko and Jee's first real argument! Zuko's a fast healer! Also Kojuku is a fool who should not be left alone for more then five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a blast to write. Enjoy!

Lieutenant Jee wonders how his life came to this: bickering with a thirteen year old exiled prince on a rusty ship in the middle of the ocean.

The Spirits must have it out for him.

“We’re going through it!” Zuko snaps. “We can’t waste any time, and going around does just that!”

“And if the ship is damaged? What then?!” Jee retorts. 

“Then we fix it at the Air Temple!” 

“Yes, because the  _ abandoned  _ temple will have  _ plenty _ of supplies just waiting for us!” 

Iroh watches from the other side of the table, stroking his beard idly. He looks like he has something to say, but he refrains. 

“ _ I’m  _ the captain of this ship and  _ I  _ give the orders!” Zuko snarls.

Jee has something vile sitting on the tip of his tongue, ready to lash out at the bossy boy when the sound of someone coughing pointedly distracts him. 

“Are you two...trying to navigate without the navigator…?” Reishi asks mirthfully from the doorway.

Jee hates his life right now. From the look on Zuko’s face, he does too. Iroh looks far more amused than he has any right to.

\---

Suzuka has come to the very tentative conclusion that while Reishi gives off some sort of odd, suspicious vibe, he means no harm. For now.

She can finally stop watching him whenever they share a room.

This verdict does not stop her from watching him right now, though. He’s dealing with an angry thirteen year old, an exasperated lieutenant, and an entertained ex-general with impressive poise. He doesn’t even raise his voice as the prince nearly spits fire into his face, which is impressive given the height difference. He silently moves his long sandy rat tail out of the way of the flames and waits for Zuko to calm down.

“-should have been here before! Where have you even been?!”

“My apologies, your highness,” Reishi bows slightly. “I had decided to get an early breakfast. The cooks made some wonderful dumplings this morning, which I highly recommend.”

“Oh, dumplings!” Iroh says, jumping up. “I haven’t had dumplings in ages. Come, Prince Zuko! Let the navigator do his job! We should eat while the food is still fresh!”

Zuko lets out a frustrated scream-groan and stomps out surprisingly fast. He’s probably hungry, he’s been arguing with the lieutenant for ten minutes. Suzuka snickers.

Then she walks up to the table, curious, and peers down at the map. There’s a large black cloud scribbled in the ocean, somewhere up ahead in their route, she assumes.

“He wants to go through a storm,” Jee complains, messaging his forehead. “In  _ this  _ ship.”

“I don’t think the Wani is made for that kind of weather,” Suzuka comments. “Even if it is, it’s so outdated I wouldn’t be surprised if it folds over like paper anyway.”

“Thank you!” Jee cries, throwing his hands up. 

But Reishi shakes his head. “That may be true, but the prince is right. Going through would be better.”

Suzuka fails to see his logic. “Why?”

“This black blob is the general area coverage,” Reishi explains. “See how it’s mostly horizontal? It’s not a big storm. It’s a wide one.”

Jee narrows his eyes. “So trying to go around…”

“...would mean spending more time in there then just powering through.” Suzuka finishes, wide-eyed.

Reishi smirks as he taps the cloud. “Exactly. His highness is young, but he’s a bright one, it seems.”

“There’s still the possibility of damage, though.” Suzuka points out. Reishi hums.

“The water in this area is deep, I know that for a fact, so running into anything is as low a chance as it can be, “ Reishi starts listing off on his fingers. “Some wind and rain shouldn’t pose any problem we can’t fix, unless a hurricane or something drops on us. Lightning we leave to the general, at his own request, though there’s a low chance of lightning this time anyway.” 

Suzuka nods appreciatively. Even Jee looks less opposed to the plan.

They get it settled and Suzuka manages to snag a few of the last dumplings. It’s a pretty good morning for her overall.

\---

Kojuku doesn’t feel good.

He sniffs pathetically as he scoops coal into the furnace. Usually he would just use his own fire to light it, but it feels particularly unreliable right now. The steady thrum of warm energy beneath the skin that other firebenders experience is, for him, a volatile river of heat that occasionally threatens to explode. Now is one of those times.

He sniffles again, wiping at his rosy nose with his sleeve. Sparks crackle in his face, making him flinch. For a moment, he considers going to see the doctor, but then the furnace gives a hungry groan. 

He pushes another shovel-full of coal into it and sighs. The shovel feels like it weighs ten times its usual weight.

A knock on the door makes him jump.

“You don’t look like the engineer.” The brunette comments with a raised eyebrow. 

“‘Cause I’m not,” Kojuku croaks. “He’s sleeping. I don’t have much else to do, so I’m taking over for him right now. I’m Kojuku.”

Ino had looked so peaceful when Kojuku had gone to find him; a rare occurrence. He hadn’t had the heart to wake him up.

“I can probably help you instead, missss…?”

“Suzuka,” she says. “And, well, it’s nothing urgent. I just noticed the rather sizable burn on the outside of this room, which I don’t think was there when we all first got on board, and was wondering about it…?”

_ Oh.  _ Kojuku laughs nervously, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, uh, yeah, that was me. I keep forgetting to clean it, don’t mind it.”

“... _ you _ did that?” Suzuka says disbelievingly. Kojuku doesn’t know if he should be offended or not.

“Yeah. It was an accident, I swear!” he adds the last part quickly. She still looks dumbfounded.

“Why?... _ how? _ ” she steps back out into the hallway to look at the ship’s wound again. “It reaches the ceiling!”

Kojuku shrugs uncertainly. “I got excited about something and lost control. Luckily Ino was there, or we’d probably have blown up by now!”

“...Whoever Ino is, I need to thank him.” Suzuka comments quietly, still staring at the burnt metal. 

The furnace hisses and Kojuku quickly shovels in another pile of coal. His nose twitches insistently and he drops the shovel. It lands with a bang.

“Ah,  _ spirits.” _

“Huh?”

Kojuku doesn’t answer. He only sprints out of the room, and away from Suzuka, just as a large sneeze wracks his body. The boiling river in his veins erupts.

Everything goes white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then the ship is destroyed and everyone dies, the end.  
> Not really, that'd suck. Im better than that


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the explosion brings a lot of confusion all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit difficult to write. And it still feels kinda messy? Lemme know if thats the case and i can try to fix it

Ai is once again fishing with the help of her trusty bow when she hears an explosion below deck. It doesn’t sound quite big enough to cause too much damage, but it’s enough that the Wani shakes for a moment.

She rushes down without thinking. Smoke floats into her vision and she covers her face.

Frantic footsteps come from behind her, as well as...from in front of her. She steps to the side and listens as a pair of people crash into each other. She giggles as they collide loudly.

“Ay yi yi, that’s a lot of smoke,” Reishi coughs, rubbing his face.

“You’re telling  _ me,” _ hacks the woman he ran into as she rubs soot off her face. “I was caught in the middle of it.”

“What happened?” Ai pipes up, startling her. “Oop, sorry.”

“You’re fine,” the woman sighs. “What  _ isn’t  _ fine is Kojuku exploding.”

Reishi stares at her. “Come again?” 

“He WHAT?!?” Ai screeches, glancing into the black fog. “Is he still in there?!”

“Yeah, I tried to call for him but he didn't respond,” Suzuka says, troubled. “So I thought I’d get help first.”

That’s fair but also not. 

“You can’t just leave him in there!” Ai argues. “ _ I  _ can’t just leave him in there!” she darts into the smoke before either of the other two can stop her, doing a roll and keeping her body low to the ground. 

She crawls forward like a mongoose-lizard, keeping an eye out for anything other than steel. The hallway is a simple straight line here, so it’s relievingly easy to find the odd lump sprawled out on the ground.

He’s still. Too still. Ever since she met him he’s been nothing but motion and activity for the most part, but now he’s just…

Ai shakes him quickly. “Kojuku... Kojukuuu!”

He groans pitifully. “Huaaah…?”

“It’s me, Ai! Are you okay?” As she talks to him, she attempts to get him upright. It doesn’t go too well; he’s surprisingly heavy.

“Ai…” he wheezes. “What’re you doin’ here…?”

Ai manages to get one of his arms over her shoulder. “Looking for you, you big goofball. Heard you exploded, what’s up with that?”

“Oh yeaaah...I sneezed.” Even through the smoke, Ai can make out his embarrassed smile. “My bad…”

Ai is a mixture of curious, impressed, and afraid. “That’s...that’s wild.” is all she gets out.

He nods in agreement, then droops.

“Wait, no, stay with me!” Ai yells at him, trying to pull him back up. She freezes for a moment when she sees movement in the smoke, then suddenly arms appear from within the black cloud, helping her support the weak man. The lady from earlier moves closer to grab his other arm and get it over her own shoulder.

“Oh spirits, thank you, I don’t think I could’ve gotten him back up myself,” Ai pants.

“Don’t you fall over too, we gotta get out of here.” The woman says, nudging her.. 

“Yeah...yeah, let’s go. I’m Ai, by the way.”

“Suzuka. Nice to meet you, even in these conditions.”

\---

Shue has been waiting for just this moment ever since he set up shop. He barely lifts an eyebrow when Suzuka and Ai barge in, an unconscious firebender over their shoulders. 

“Put him in the bed and get some water, you two. I’ve got him.”

Ai nods weakly and is dragged out by Suzuka to go to the cafeteria. The doctor turns to his patient, hands on his hips.

As if sensing his displeasure, Kojuku whines and turns over, pressing his face against his pillow. Shue immediately notices the red haze coloring his cheeks and ears.

“You  _ would  _ get sick the first week,” He scolds, already on the move to gather what he needs. “And you  _ would  _ neglect to come here immediately.”

The man burrows further into the mattress.

\---

“What do you  _ mean  _ he blew up?!?” Zuko cries, eye wide in disbelief. 

“I mean he literally blew up,” Suzuka answers helplessly. “He sneezed, I saw sparks and a bit of fire, and suddenly BOOM! Smoke everywhere. I couldn’t see him so I ran to get help and ran into Reishi and Ai, then Ai jumped in to get him out and I followed.”

Ai lifts her head at her name, then returns to chugging a big glass of water. Reishi watches over her with his own smaller cup.

This entire situation is so absurd that Zuko has to take another minute to process it. He doesn’t want to believe it, but he thinks back to when he found Kojuku and Ino on deck after he woke up…

_ “-you almost fucking blew us up-” _

That’s what that swordsman had said, wasn’t it? He hadn’t seemed like the type to exaggerate like that. Where  _ is  _ Ino, anyway? Zuko hasn’t seen him once all morning. A question for later.

He turns to his uncle, but for once, Iroh looks just as lost as he does. 

“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a firebender exploding…” he mutters, tugging at his beard looking morbidly curious. Zuko leaves him to his thoughts.

“Where is he?” he asks Suzuka.

“In the infirmary, probably still unconscious.” Suzuka replies.

The door suddenly swings open, nearly flying off its hinges. Ino stomps in with a significant lack of swords and a significant amount of bedhead. His eyes, normally half-lidded in indifference, are wide and alight with disorientated fury.

...Something about him is odd. Zuko can’t pinpoint it because he’s pretty far away, but there’s something. It had been there when he first met the swordsman too, at least he thinks, but somehow whatever it is is more pronounced now. 

“What the hell happened while I was asleep?” Ino snarls through grit teeth. “Why is there a dumbass in the infirmary under the excuse of ‘exploding’ and why is there more shit to clean up near the boiler room?!”

Zuko squares his shoulders defensively. “That’s what we want to know!” He retorts, jabbing a finger at the engineer-only-on-paper-apparently. “We were told he was doing  _ your  _ job because  _ you  _ weren’t there and then he suddenly sneezed fire!”

“He didn’t wanna wake you up.” Suzuka clarifies swiftly. 

“What  _ the fuck.” _ This just makes Ino seethe more. His fingers twitch and he looks a second from exploding, himself.

Then he’s gone, the door slam he accentuates his exit with bouncing off the walls. 

“...That went well.” Reishi says pleasantly.

_ “How?”  _ Zuko cries. The navigator shrugs.

“He didn’t light anyone on fire?” He suggests. “Or stab anyone?”

“He didn’t even have his swords, how would he have stabbed us?” Suzuka asks.

“I, personally, feel like he could find a way.” Ai says confidently. 

For some reason, Zuko is inclined to agree. He rolls his eyes anyway.

\---

Ino wakes up with a vague feeling of danger. He also wakes up with sunlight directly in his face, which is not an everyday occurrence for him. Both of these are sure signs of a bad morning.

He’s up and reaching for his clothes before he’s actually fully awake, to the point he accidentally leaves his swords behind. He doesn’t go back for them. Worst case scenario, he can light someone on fire.

Ino turns a corner and nearly runs over Jee.

“Where’s the dumbass?” is the first thing out of his mouth.

“Which one?” the lieutenant asks back. Ino barks out a laugh.

“The white-haired hazard to everything good left on this planet.” Ino elaborates, holding a hand up at Kojuku’s general height. “Has stupid orange markings at the corners of his eyes.”

Jee makes a noise as the description clicks. “I believe he is in the infirmary. According to Ai, he exploded.”

“Of fucking course he did.” Ino groans. “Thanks.”

Ino runs off to the navigation room real quick to yell at the rest of the crew, because maybe they’ll have more details. They do, but not much.

After that he’s storming the infirmary to be first in line to scream at his friend when he wakes up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I have written everything up to this point pretty impulsively, so yesterday i sat myself down to get a timeline started and some other stuff sorted out. Hurray, planning! It's a nice thing to do lol
> 
> also i made an edit to chapter 3. its nothing big its only like a sentence or two and its just me adding a detail about kojuku's eye things bc i felt like bringing it up in this chapter was waay too abrupt oops
> 
> P.S. real quick WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE READING THIS? i am baffled but completely over the moon, thank u all so much for taking time out of ur lives to look at my story yall r great have a fantastic day
> 
> also i made an edit to chapter 3. its nothing big its only like a sentence or two and its just me adding a detail about kojuku's eye things bc i felt like bringing it up in this chapter was waay too abrupt oops


End file.
